Jason Sheffstall
StoneBridge Baptist Church
Morgantown, West Virginia
February 4, 2007
Series: GOD IN YOUR IPOD
Subject: Waiting For The World To Change
Text: Acts 17:1-9; Mark 10:45
INTRODUCTION
Let me first of all say that I am so excited
about this Sermon Series. I don’t know if I have
anticipated a Series like this one since I have
been in Morgantown! This month, we are going
to look at four songs which will relate to what
God is doing in our own lives through the music
culture of today.
Week One: Waiting on the World to
Change - John Mayer
Week Two: You and Me - Lifehouse
Week Three: When the Sand Runs Out -
Rascal Flatts
Week Four: Made to Worship - Chris
Tomlin
It is my prayer that God would uses these
messages to transform us. The big picture today
is to realize that the World is not going to
Change, until we become World Changers.
World changers are servants. They are
enthusiastic, servant-hearted, passionate people
who understand the mission of life! For the
most part, World changers are more about
changing the world than seeing their
pocketbooks filled and people manipulated into
doing something that they really don’t want to
do.
What is your Mission in life? What do
you value? How are you going to carry out the
plan God has for you? Today, we are looking at
John Mayer’s song entitled, Waiting on the
World to Change. Part of the lyrics say,
Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
This song reminds us of the challenges
that we have to reach the world for Christ.
Many times we see the ‘wrong’ in our society,
but we don’t feel like we have the ‘means’ to rise
above and beat it. This type of thinking leaves
us defeated. There are three characteristics that
I want to share with you today about World
Changers:
I. WORLD CHANGERS ARE
PASSIONATE (V1-4).
A. v1-4, “Now when they had passed
through Amphipolis and
Apollonia, they came to
Thessalonica, where there was a
synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then
Paul, as his custom was, went in to
them, and for three Sabbaths
reasoned with them from the
Scriptures, 3 explaining and
demonstrating that the Christ had
to suffer and rise again from the
dead, and saying, "This Jesus
whom I preach to you is the
Christ." 4 And some of them were
persuaded; and a great multitude
of the devout Greeks, and not a
few of the leading women, joined
Paul and Silas.”
B. In Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas were
put in prison, and at midnight
they prayed and sang praises to
God, and the prisoners heard
them. After displaying such
radical commitment to God,
people took notice. One of the
things we can learn from this is
that when we are radical for God,
people listen. People are more apt
to listen when we have earned the
right to speak.
C. Moving from Philippi to
Thessalonica, they came to a
synagogue of the Jews. Paul and
Silas were World Changers
because they were passionate. One
of the statements in our vision is
for every person who unites with
StoneBridge to be passionate
about Jesus Christ.
D. Passion drives us to be World
Changers. In our text, Paul and
Silas went into the Jewish
Synagogue and reasoned with
them for three Sabbaths from the
Scriptures. In other words, for
three weeks, they were preaching
and proving to the Jews that Jesus
was the Christ. The Scriptures
help us to become passionate for
Christ. Without the Scriptures,
we have no way to defend the
truth.
E. When people see passion, they see
authenticity. As Paul reasoned
with the Jews, concerning Jesus,
the Bible says that some were
persuaded; and a great multitude
of the devout Greeks, and not a
few of the leading women, joined
Paul and Silas.
F. Passion and Authenticity mixed
with the gospel of Jesus Christ
always results in lives being
changed. If we want to change the
world, we must be passionate
about our Savior as Paul and Silas
were in this passage of Scripture.
II. WORLD CHANGERS ARE
ENTHUSIASTIC (V5-9).
A. v5-9, “5 But the Jews who were
not persuaded, *becoming envious,
took some of the evil men from the
marketplace, and gathering a
mob, set all the city in an uproar
and attacked the house of Jason,
and sought to bring them out to
the people. 6 But when they did
not find them, they dragged Jason
and some brethren to the rulers of
the city, crying out, "These who
have turned the world upside
down have come here too. 7 Jason
has harbored them, and these are
all acting contrary to the decrees
of Caesar, saying there is another
king--Jesus." 8 And they troubled
the crowd and the rulers of the
city when they heard these things.
9 So when they had taken security
from Jason and the rest, they let
them go.”
B. Enthusiasm is contagious.
Whenever we become enthusiastic
about seeing our world changed,
God uses this as a way for people
to become unified. Jason and his
household believed the message of
the gospel and became passionate
for Christ. They protected Paul
and Silas from harm, was carried
away by the Jews, and then posted
bond. That night, they sent Paul
and Silas away to Berea.
C. Paul, Silas and their Missionary
Team were so enthusiastic about
seeing their countrymen saved,
that they were willing to be
imprisoned, beat, and even killed
for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
D. World changers have this reckless
abandon that says, ‘Whatever it
takes!’.
E. World changers are PIONEERS
and not SETTLERS. Pioneers
have this attitude to change their
culture no matter the
consequences.
F. If you are a part of this church,
you are a pioneer. You are willing
to reach people in Morgantown,
West Virginia in a Historic Movie
Theatre. You deserve to be
commended for your faith and
your commitment to reach people
no matter where you are, and no
matter what it takes. Thank You!
G. Our text tells us that the Jews
became envious, took some of the
evil men from the marketplace,
gathered a mob, set the city in an
uproar, and attacked the house of
Jason.
H. Paul and Silas’ zeal and
enthusiasm caused the Jews to say,
“"These who have turned the
world upside down have come
here too. 7 Jason has harbored
them, and these are all acting
contrary to the decrees of Caesar,
saying there is another king--
Jesus.”
I. World changers are people who
have an incredible amount of
Enthusiasm!
III. WORLD CHANGERS ARE SERVANTS
(Mark 10:45).
A. Mark 10:45, “45 For even the Son
of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
B. Last, but definitely not least,
World Changers Are Servants.
Jesus Christ was the ultimate
world changer. As a matter of
fact, He is still changing the lives
of people in our world.
C. If we want to change our world,
we must SERVE. Servants are
givers. They are willing to do
whatever it takes to see people’s
lives changed.
D. We must learn from Christ’s
example. This verse states that
even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life a ransom for many.
E. If we truly want to be World
Changers, we must stop asking the
question, “What can God and His
church do for me, but, what can I
do for God and His Church.”
F. What are some areas of ministry
God is leading you to be a part of
in this church? How can you use
your God given talents and
abilities to better serve the Lord?
G. The last part of this verse in Mark
10:45 tells us that Jesus came to
this earth to change the world.
How did He do it? He was willing
to give up His life, so that we could
be saved. If you will repent of
your sins and call on the name of
Jesus to forgive you and save you,
He will do it. Then, you can sign
up to be a World Changer!
